Corporate Does Not Love Mothers

I’m just going to come out and say it: corporate does not love mothers. 

If you have the audacity to become a mother:

• Corporate assumes your priorities have shifted.
• Corporate assumes your career ambitions have dropped.
• Corporate assumes you will need a lot of accommodations. 
• Corporate assumes you are not interested in that exciting project, or promotion.
• Corporate assumes you are no longer fit to travel, or do anything outside regular work hours.

The operating term in all of these obviously being “ASSUMES”. 

So if there EVER is a time to take control of your career, it is after maternity. 

Because if you don’t, I promise you there will be a hell of a lot of assumptions made about you, none of which are probably true, or the full story. 

What you want to do instead is to sit down with your manager and spell out, in no uncertain terms, what your baby will and very much will not mean for your career. 

• That having a baby will increase your effectiveness at work even further.
• That having a child is a fast-track to multi-tasking success. 
• That raising a child will dramatically improve your communication skills.
• That working mothers thrive under pressure.
• That being a mother and having a successful corporate career makes you a great role model. 

The list goes on…

Like I said: spell out how you see your future in the company. Ask for the necessary support to excel even more, and explain what the company will get in return.

In short: don’t let others make decisions for you, but take charge instead.

If you want my help in doing so, let me know. I have personally learnt the hard way what to do (and what not to do!) when I had my two daughters, and have held the hands of many, many WINners going through the same transition successfully.